Impressions of selbstvers.org

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

To help tear down the language barrier, I´d like to show you, from time to time, some of the pictures posted at our German-speaking homesteading and permaculture forums www.selbstvers.org
A Selbstversorger is a self-sufficient person (or at least interested in self-sufficiency).

Today:
User: Minze
Location: Brandenburg, Germany

Glasshouse made of used windows.





Their new mailbox, created by her husband, who is an artist blacksmith.

User: Talbewohner
Location: Thuringia, Germany

This family is reanimating a historic vicarage. The big house and the adjoining buildings are turned into several apartments. The whole thing is surrounded by a permaculture garden.
Website: http://www.erdenpfad.de/index.html
They are also offering WOOF-like helper holidays.





Small scale grain growing



One of the kitchens (on the inside they are allowed to be creative).



New shed, made of used wood to fit into the ensamble.



Their preschool child, performing as fire artist.

User: Schafmelker
Location: North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

The Gersch family are running a small biodynamic sheep farm with cheese dairy.
Website: http://www.milchschafzucht-gersch.de/Home.htm

They are member of the GEH (Society for the Conservation of Old and Endangered Livestock Breeds)
http://www.g-e-h.de/

Helper/WOOF jobs are available occasionally.

This year´s spring lambing season is almost finished.







Cheese maturation





Landscape





Booth at the local fair. Some petting animals attract children and adults alike.

Some garden pics of Talbewohner´s project:
(Also see my second posting in this tread)

Mirabelle tree in full bloom





Another glass house made of used windows





Vorwerk hen with her chicks



Cold frame made of old window frames







A little island for mother duck

Very nice pics of some interesting places Thanks for sharing them

David

Amazing pictures. SOme of the building images were really inspiring. Thanks for sharing! Pictures and videos are a great way to cross the language barrier.

User: Mike42.1
Location: South Africa

Mike (Michael) and his wife Alex are running an aid project for mentally disabled people in South Africa.
They established their place Ikhaya Loxolo (home of peace) in 2004.
Here a press report on their project:
http://mg.co.za/article/2013-11-08-if-they-are-raped-then-so-what

As money is always short, and to give their residents a meaningful task, they try to live of their own produce as much as possible.
They have a big vegetable garden and are increasing their livestock constantly.



Siesta



A visitor (Nile monitor)











One of their jersey cows giving birth to her jersey x brahman x nguni calf.





10 days later



The creek


Same creek after 450 mm rain within 24 hours. Usual yearly rainfall is 1250 mm.
Imagine what could be achieved there with professional rain harvesting.



Sometimes you just wish you were a cow. (At the beach, about two by car from their location.)

Today: The baby animal special

Rallymann´s rabbits and goslings





One of kraut_ruebe´s cuys



fuxi´s quils



tipopaar´s Kune Kune piglets and turkeys









Ani´s Tauernschecken goat kindergarden



Olaf´s goslings



karl-erwins-frau´s “cuckoo´s child”
(Link to her blog: http://karl-erwin.blogspot.co.uk/



And some more pics from Mike´s kindergarden

Good news from the seed savers front:

After successfully stopping the planned, very adverse reform of the EU seeds directive, the European seed savers lead by Arche Noah (the Austrian seed savers organization) and Global 2000 (the Austrian part of Friends of the Earth International ) now handed over a petition with more than 500.000 signatures that is claiming free use and legal sales of heritage breeds.

The photo shows Austrian farming minister Andrä Rupprechter forwarding the petition to EU health commissioner Tonio Borg.

User: syldron
Location: Norway

Part 1, the house: